JIM ARNOSKY SHARES STORIES, WRITING CRAFT WITH STUDENTS

A sign proclaiming his name welcomed him in the hallway. A countdown hung in the library, near a wilderness set they’d re-created in construction paper. And in the gym, they sat cross-legged on the floor, chanting his name.

Everyone knows a rock star when they see one. For elementary-schoolers at Harrison Road, it might as well be children’s book author Jim Arnosky.

With the first strum of his guitar, Arnosky silenced his audience. They, in turn, hung on his every word, with each mention of an animal prompting a different reaction.

“That buffalo’s head was this big!” Arnosky told them, his arms outstretched.

“Wow!” the children uttered.

A skunk brought a wave of “Ews,” while a mama alligator was most impressive, eliciting awed “Ohs.”

Harrison Road was the last stop for Arnosky, who left Vermont to visit Robert E. Lee and Chancellor elementary schools in one week. He spent hours at each site regaling students with his animal encounters on cross-country trips.

Born in New York City on Sept. 1, 1946, Arnosky taught himself to draw. The skill complemented his interests in writing and the natural sciences.

He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature, garnering several awards along the way. To research his topics, Arnosky and his wife, Deanna, document their trips on camera and, for his school visits, in song.

“What I want them to know is there’s a real adventure in knowledge,” Arnosky said in an interview. “Yes, it’s science, but it’s also adventure.”

At Harrison Road, Arnosky revisited his encounter with a buffalo in Oklahoma, the inspiration for his book “Grandfather Buffalo.”

He imitated its lumbering steps and the way its head swayed from side to side. The students mimicked him, whispering to each other that they’d read that book.

Arnosky recalled the baby alligator he saw on another trip, perched atop its mother in the water.

He drew the alligators on a notepad, with the mother alligator’s eyes just breaking the surface.

At the end of the visit, students waved him goodbye. Some shouted his name from across the room.

Then, as is customary when a rock star is sighted, they asked him for his autograph.